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Short filmTranscript
00:00My sister Serafini ran away from the wedding, and I was forced to become the maid of Serafine's
00:05fiance. I destroyed the ceremony in fury. I even struck Kale Vorn across the face in front of
00:14Elder of the Pack. Yet this male, the Alpha of Alphers, the Frostfang Wolf King, didn't unleash
00:21his wrath. Instead, he knelt before me and brushed the shattered ceremonial glass from my heel with
00:26his own hands. No matter how enraged you are, you are not permitted to harm yourself. It would break
00:30my heart. One sentence. That was all it took to make my heart stutter. For an entire year after
00:36that, I reigned in my wild heart. I tried to learn to handle the affairs of the wolf pack and
00:41to become
00:42a worthy Luna. Until Serafini Ashdown came back from abroad. We were kidnapped. The howling sea wind
00:50tore at my scalp as we stood at the cliff's edge. The rogue wolf was still snarling in madness.
00:56At Kale Vorn, it's your turn. Two Fivins, one life. Which one will you save?
01:05Beside me, Serafine's heart-wrenching sobs filled the air.
01:09Kale, save me! Please, you have to save me!
01:15Without a word, I let my hand drift down to Restomach. There, a tiny life was growing,
01:20a pup two months along. I had just discovered it. The pack healer let me sense the pup's
01:25essence. Exceptionally strong and steady. Kale had been called to an emergency council and missed
01:32the news. When I tried to share it that night, Serafini had just been brought back to the
01:36territory, and then came this ambush. I should have reached my hand toward Kale and screamed
01:41that I carried his air. But before I could even open my mouth, Kale pointed at Serafini without a
01:47shred of hesitation. I choose Serafina!
01:51Kale didn't give me time to react before I plummeted from high up into the icy water,
01:55agaping. Bloodthirsty maw of darkness and ice swallowed me whole. My body felt as though it had
02:01been shattered and reassembled in reverse. The bondmark on my neck burned white hot. Then went
02:06terrifyingly cold. Something deeply important. Irreversibly. Irretrievably slipped out from my
02:12womb. I slowly closed my eyes. In that instant I regretted ever accepting the mark of Kale Vorn.
02:20When I opened my eyes again, I saw the stark white healing ward, and Kale,
02:25gripping my hand, his silver Volf eyes brimming with anguish.
02:31You were carrying my cup. Why didn't you tell me?
02:35I thought about the moment he faced the rogues wolf. The moment he chose Serafini without a flicker of
02:40hesitation. I was about to pull my hand away when Serafini rushed in and pointed at me.
02:45Era, you knew you carried his pup, yet you refused to speak a single word. You deliberately made Kale
02:53choose me, didn't you? So we'd be shattered with a death for the rest of our lives. I know you
02:57despise me, but that was Kale's pup too. The heir to the Frostdale pack. Using your own flesh and
03:03blood for a scheme. How could you be so cruel? Every word was absurd, yet she delivered them
03:08through choked sobs. I opened my mouth to argue back, but Kale's hand gripping mine tightened sharply.
03:15His alpha aura flared with barely contained wrath.
03:21Is that true?
03:23So a Volf's instincts really can be blind to this degree. The alpha who marked me who swore a mate
03:29bond that was supposed to transcend all things had never truly trusted me. Before I could even react,
03:36Kale seized my collar and forced me to look at him. His irises bled from silver to gold. He was
03:42utterly
03:42furious. I never imagined you could be this cruel, trying to trade our pup for my guilt! You disgust me!
03:50With that, he flung me off the bed onto the floor, and my back slammed hard against the wall. The
03:56healing for lines scattered everywhere. The white floor was stained with my blood, my leg, already
04:02splinted, twisted into a horrifying angle from the impact. Yet the hand that should have been reaching to
04:07help me up was firmly planted in front of Serafini. Shielding her, his silver eyes were filled with
04:13warning, directed at me. Kale actually thought I was going to attack Serafini.
04:23A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. I looked at him with eyes completely devoid of emotion.
04:32This pup. The tragedy was being conceived in my womb, only to have a sire like you.
04:39Kale's pupils contracted. The hand-shielding Serafini froze in midter. For a split second,
04:44his wolf recoiled, as if my words had pierced something deeper than flesh.
04:50Maybe it was the desolation in my eyes that struck him. He instinctively moved to help me up.
04:56But Serafini clutched his sleeve, tears streaming down her face.
05:01Every night since that day, I've been having nightmares. Kale, it hurts so much. I keep seeing
05:08her fall. Keep hearing the splash. Serafini's weeping was pitiful, but I saw through it. Malice glinted in
05:16her eyes, as if she were saying, losing one pup is nowhere near enough.
05:24Kale turned a cold gaze toward me. Ira, you frightened Serafin. Apologize to her.
05:32There I was, crumpled on the floor, pierced by the frost in his eyes.
05:37I'm like this and you still want me to apologize to her? I'm the one who lost our pup, not
05:43her!
05:44Not Serafina! Serafini only wept louder.
05:47Kale, I know. Hila blames me for making her lose the pup. I'll kneel and apologize to her myself!
05:53Kale couldn't bear the thought of Serafini kneeling. He turned to his pack enforcers and ordered them.
05:59Hold the luna down. Make her apologize to Miss Ashtheod.
06:04He shrieked at me.
06:06Kale Vorn, do you even have a heart beneath that wolf's hide?
06:10But there was no room for struggle. The enforcers forced my head down and
06:14slammed it hard against the stone floor. Once, twice, three times. Blood stained my forehead red.
06:21My vision went dark. With every knock, searing pain shot through my entire body through the bond.
06:27I felt nothing from Kale's end but cold, unyielding judgment.
06:32By the time Kale snapped out of it, I had almost passed out from the blows.
06:37Enough!
06:39The alpha's brow furrowed. He moved to summon the healers. At just the right moment, Serafini conveniently
06:46collapsed in his arms, so the words that reached his lips became,
06:53all to attend to Serafini, whose breathing was steady. Heart rate was normal, her eyelids were
07:00still twitching erratically from her inexperience at feigning unconsciousness.
07:04Meanwhile, I, the luna, covered in blood, was discarded on the cold floor like carrion.
07:11Eventually, I gathered a sliver of strength and struggled to climb back into the healing bed.
07:16My phone rang. I answered. Serafini must have accidentally triggered a call while fainting.
07:23From… The other end came her theatrically choked sobs.
07:27Kale, I was just too young back then. The thought of the ceremony terrified me, so I fled. Will you
07:33forgive me?
07:35How could I ever blame you?
07:37Kale's voice was warm and gentle. A tone I had once believed was reserved for me alone.
07:42But you marked at Ira, without a single objection. And at the ceremony, you indulged her every whim.
07:49I thought maybe… The alpha seemed to let out a low, rumbling laugh.
07:54Foolish girl. I claimed her only to cover your shame and salvage your family's name among the packs.
08:00As for letting her run wild at the ceremony, that was to deflect the gossip away from you.
08:05So that when you finished wandering and came back, you'd still be spotless, and no pack elder could point a
08:11claw at you.
08:12I promised I would always protect you.
08:14The call cut off. My vision blurred with wetness. I finally understood just how foolish I had been all these
08:21years.
08:22Because of one gentle look from an alpha. A few hollow words of protection. I had believed he truly loved
08:28me.
08:29What I thought was fate had been a lie from beginning to end.
08:35I laughed until my whole body trembled. The wounds split open. And I felt nothing. Not until an urgent voice
08:42called out beside my ear.
08:45Ira! Ira!
08:46I came back to myself. Uncle Harrison and Aunt Margo had arrived with the finest healers from the Valen family
08:52estate.
08:53Seeing the blood-soaked wreck I had become. My uncle, a beta male so gentle he had never raised his
08:59voice in his life, turned red-eyed.
09:01Pale Vaughan is utterly despicable! You're broken like this and he's still attending to another female. I knew it!
09:05Your father forcing you into that substitute mating? He never had good intentions. Animals! They're worse than beasts!
09:11Aunt Margo threw a reproachful look at him.
09:14Is now really the time? You'll only make Ila more distressed.
09:18She tenderly wiped away my tears.
09:20Ira, why don't you come back to the Valen estate with us and recover for a while?
09:25If you truly cannot bear the separation from Kale, then at least let me stay here and tend to you.
09:31I lifted my head, my gaze resolute.
09:36No need.
09:38I've decided to sever the mate bond with Kale Vorn.
09:42As I spoke, I produced a blank bond severance decree bearing Kale Vorn's own signature,
09:48sealed with the Frostfang sigil. He had placed it in my hands solemnly on the night of our claiming
09:53ceremony. He said it was the greatest assurance an alpha could willingly give his mate a promise that,
10:00should he ever fail me, I would have the power to walk free. Those words had pulled me deeper and
10:05deeper. Until. In the end, I paid with my own pup's life. Now, I handed this one treasured gift to
10:12my
10:12uncle and aunt. They understood immediately and summoned. A pack law keeper to draft the severance
10:18pact. The moment I pressed my blood signature at the bottom of that document. A breath of relief
10:24escaped me. The mate bond in my chest, already frayed to a single thread, went utterly silent. The law keeper
10:32gathered the scrolls. After the reverence is recorded, there will be a one moon cooling period. Once that
10:42moon passes, I will deliver the final dissolution decree. Thank you. My voice was calm, empty, but calm.
10:54My wounds had been tended. I was just about to rest. Then the healing ward door was kicked open with
11:00brute force. A tall female swept in, Ilara Vorn, Kale's mother and high elder of the Frostfang pack.
11:08Without a word, she delivered a hard slap across my face. You knew you carried the Frostbell air,
11:13and you still insisted on going alone to that rogue-inflested territory? It's one thing for a
11:17low-blorn omega like you to get taken, but you killed the Vorn pack's first grandson. Today,
11:22I will teach you what it means to answer to the Elder Council. Faced with Ilara's sudden fury,
11:27all I felt was absurdity. That day, it was Serafine who had forced her way into my vehicle
11:33and ordered the driver to change course toward the rogue borderlands. That was what gave the
11:37kidnappers their opening. I was co-porsed by Serafine into going to that territory.
11:43Ilara looked half doubtful. No. Serafine would have no reason to do this. I insisted firmly.
11:51None of you have investigated. Why are you saying this? Ilara immediately summoned her enforcers.
11:57Go. I want to see who has been lying to the Elder Council.
12:03The ward door was pushed open again. Kale blocked the enforcers from leaving. His alpha
12:09presence filled the room like a winter storm. No need to investigate. Before I could even
12:15breathe a sigh of relief, the alpha's next words smashed me to the bottom of the abyss.
12:20All of this is Ella's fault. Out of jealousy, she dragged Serafine to the rogue borderlands.
12:26She brought this on herself. I jerked my head up, staring at Kale in disbelief.
12:32I had actually felt a flash of gratitude when he walked in. I thought he had come to defend me.
12:37I never imagined he would personally pin all. The blame on me. All to shield Serafine, the real culprit.
12:45Fine. I have always known the Ashtone bloodline was diluted and unworthy,
12:50but I didn't realize it could produce such a lying, shameless creature. Enforcers, bring the pack
12:56discipline rod. Alera's fury surpassed rage and turned to ice. My pupils trembled. The Frostfang
13:02discipline rod was notorious. Barbed silver alloy. Lethal to wolves, it was never invoked except for
13:09crimes of the gravest order. No! I'm not the one who lied! What right do you have to punish me?
13:16I fought with everything I had, but Beta Enforcers pinned me hard against the floor.
13:21Then the barbed rod came smashing down onto my abdomen. A piercing scream tore through the healing
13:28ward corridor. Kale's brow furrowed instinctively. Mother. Alera's tone left no room for argument.
13:36You're not thinking of pleading for this Omega, are you? That was my first grandson!
13:44The Frosttail heir I waited decades for! Mother, you misunderstand.
13:50Kale turned his face away, his expression unreadable. But I caught the flicker of his
13:55wolf retreating behind ice. Ira has been far too willful this time.
14:00She deserves the punishment. But this entire matter has nothing to do with Seraphine.
14:05Please do not drag an innocent person into it, Mom. She deserves punishment. Do not drag an innocent
14:11person into this. As more than a dozen strikes of the silver rod smashed into my chest and back,
14:16Agony tore through every limb. Every nerve blood soaked through my hospital gown. The mate bond in
14:22my chest didn't just fray. It began to rot until I could bear no more. My vision went black.
14:30In the haze, I thought I heard someone howling my name. Ira! Ira, don't you dare surrender to the
14:37dark! I forbid you to die! When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw, unsurprisingly,
14:43was the anxious, worried faces of my uncle and aunt. Those damned Vorns! I swear on the Valon name,
14:50I'll get justice for you! My voice was barely a rasp. Please, don't.
14:55The Voron pack's dominion over Northmoor was now absolute. No wolf in the territory would
15:00willingly challenge them. Only then did I say what had been crystallizing in my mind since the moment
15:06I woke. Uncle, you've always said the territories overseas are more promising. That you wanted to
15:12relocate the Valon healing practice of fraud. Aunt Margo's eyes lit with cautious hope.
15:18Ira, you mean you're willing to come overseas with us?
15:22Seeing me nod, she finally broke into tears of relief. Good. Wonderful. If you're willing,
15:28then everything will be alright. But the words had barely faded before a burst of footsteps sounded
15:33outside. A deep male voice followed. Leave. Ira, where do you intend to go?
15:41To be safe, I sent my uncle and aunt away first. I was thinking of traveling to clear my mind.
15:48The healers recommended it. Kale exhaled invisible relief. He pulled me into his arms with the same
15:54possessive tenderness he had always wielded. That sounds wise. His scent enveloped me,
15:59cedar and frost. Once it had been my greatest comfort. Now every breath of it made my stomach
16:05turn. About my mother holding you accountable. Ultimately, I failed to contain the situation.
16:13But I owe Seraphine too much. I must pay that debt. You're my mate. You understand me, don't you?
16:21After the horror of my pup's death, his tender words only sent ice through every inch of my body.
16:27But I no longer had the strength to demand what debt he meant. I simply pushed his large hands away
16:33and forced a stiff smile. Of course I understand.
16:36Feeling his empty embrace, Kale's brow furrowed, his wolf stirred uneasily. Something was wrong.
16:43But his wolf couldn't put finger on what was wrong.
16:48Seraphine chose that exact moment to enter. Carrying a thermal container,
16:53her face wore precisely the right amount of concerned sweetness.
16:57Ira, you're awake. I heard your injuries were very severe,
17:02so I specially prepared some restorative herb broth. Please, try it. I didn't want to drink it at all.
17:08My wolf recoiled instantly from the scent rising from the broth.
17:13You put Silverthorn in this? I'm deathly reactive to Silverthorn.
17:17Seraphine immediately covered her mouth in feigned innocence.
17:22I had no idea. I didn't believe her for one second, back in the Ashdown household.
17:27One of her favorite tricks was accidentally mixing Silverthorn powder into my food.
17:32Then, watching with barely concealed glee as my body broke out in burns. But Kale believed her.
17:39Not only did he believe her, but he was displeased by my reaction.
17:43Seraphine was only trying to be kind. There's no need to be so dramatic.
17:48Seraphine pitifully clutched his sleeve.
17:51But if Ira refuses to drink it, the pack outside will tear me to pieces.
17:54She pointed outside the ward. Her eyes rimmed red.
17:57I already told them that Ira and I have a wonderful bond.
18:00If she won't even take one sip, they'll definitely think I'm lying.
18:04In the blink of an eye, the pack swarmed inside.
18:09Luna Ira, was the rogue ambush arranged because your sister wanted you thrown off the cliff
18:13while you carried the air? We've heard you were subjected to the Frosthen discipline rod,
18:18also because of your sister. Every single question was aimed at Seraphine,
18:22but every single word filled me with dread. I turned my head and met.
18:26Kale's ice-cold silver gaze. His lips moved soundlessly.
18:30Drink it. Or else the lives of your family.
18:33As if my volf had been ripped from my body, I numbly swallowed the silver thorn-laced broth.
18:39Seraphine leaned in close. Smug. Her voice low enough for only my ears.
18:44So pathetic. Just as useless as your weak-blooded mother who died young.
18:50A full bowl went down. I nearly lost consciousness on the spot.
18:55Fiery burns spread like wildfire across my entire body,
18:58until my vision went black. And I lost all awareness.
19:05When I woke, the ward was empty, not a single soul had stayed to watch over me.
19:10The healing fur had backflowed more than halfway. Full with blood.
19:14I don't know where I found the strength to press the call button. A healer finally rushed in.
19:22Didn't I tell your alpha ages ago? Your complications are severe. You need 24-hour monitoring?
19:28The line nearly drained you dry and no one noticed. Where is he? Don't tell me he's off comforting your
19:33sister again. I glanced at the lunar calendar on the wall. I had been unconscious for over two weeks,
19:38but there was less than a week left until the bonding severance moon ended. A small, hollow smile tugged at
19:46my lips.
19:47Soon he won't be my mate.
19:49What?
19:50I said,
19:51Soon, he won't be my mate anymore. So, could you help me find a caretaker? Someone from outside the Vorn
19:58Pack.
19:58Under the caretaker's attention, I recovered steadily. Though occasionally, I still received messages from
20:04Serafini. Kale has always wanted me. You're nothing but a paid holder. If you know what's good for you,
20:11renounce the alpha mate title now. I calmly turned off the phone screen.
20:16The day I was discharged, Kale finally appeared. Serafini was at his side, her hand resting possessively
20:24on his arm. I caught a faint coppery tongue in the air. Blood beneath it. The unmistakable
20:30scent of my uncle's family, but I had no time to dwell on it. The first words out of Kale's
20:35mouth were,
20:37Neil, apologize to Serafina.
20:41On what grounds? Uncontainable fury churned in my chest.
20:45Kale's expression hardened, his alpha aura pressing down.
20:48On the grounds that you spread false rumors, and destroyed Serafian's reputation across every
20:55pack in the territory. I didn't do any of that. I've been in the healing wad the entire time.
21:01If yous use your resources to verify. No need. The alpha cut me off, his voice flat and absolute.
21:10Serafine says it was you. So it was you. It felt like an invisible claw had seized my heart and
21:16was
21:16squeezing. A bitter, suffocating ache spread like poison to every limb.
21:22Serafini tugged at Kale's sleeve.
21:24Ara is still my little sister, after all. If she doesn't want to, forget it.
21:32It's not like this is the first time I've been treated this way by her back in the Ashdown house.
21:38Serafini tugged at Kale's sleeve.
21:41Ara is still my little sister, after all. If she doesn't want to, forget it.
21:49It's not like this is the first time I've been treated this way by her back in the Ashdown house.
21:53Each teardrop hit the floor as though it were striking Kale directly in the chest.
21:57His face hardened to granite.
21:59I always knew you were willful, Ira. But I never imagined you dared bully Serafina even in her own den.
22:06And she was still merciful enough to plead for you. Pushing back this apology again and again because you
22:13hadn't recovered. Yet you're this ungrateful.
22:21He merely crooked a finger. Pack enforcers surged forward and kicked hard against the backs of my knees.
22:27I collapsed face down onto the stone floor then they seized my hair and slammed my forehead against the ground.
22:34The crack of my skull hitting stone. My blood streaked face. Both made Kale's wolf lurch inside his chest.
22:41He was struck by a sudden. Unwelcome memory. Right after the miscarriage, I had been treated exactly like this.
22:48The same brutal grip. The same cold floor. A flicker of something. Regret. Protectiveness.
22:56Stirred inside Kale's chest. He was just about to call a halt when Serafina threw herself into his arms.
23:01Ira is more or less getting what she deserves. I just hope that after this she'll stop targeting me.
23:06The fledgling softness in Kale's heart turned back to ice. By now, my world had dissolved into a sea of
23:12crimson.
23:13The only thing keeping me upright was a message my uncle and aunt had sent.
23:17Tomorrow is the day we finalize your severance. We're coming to collect you now. And we're bringing
23:23little Leo with us. Just endure until my family arrives. Then everything will finally be over.
23:29That was what I told myself. Until a document was shoved in front of my face.
23:34This is the apology, Sroll. Sign your blood name. Now.
23:38But my eye caught what was tucked inside. I pulled it out, and my vision nearly shattered.
23:47A letter of forgiveness? My mind instantly flew to the faint blood scent on Serafina,
23:53and then to the message my uncle and aunt had sent. By timing alone, they should have arrived long ago.
24:00A flicker of something. Regret. Protectiveness. Stirred inside Kale's chest. He was just about to call a
24:07halt when Serafina threw herself into his arms. Ira is more or less getting what she deserves.
24:11I just hope that after this she'll stop targeting me.
24:14The fledgling softness in Kale's heart turned back to ice. By now, my world had dissolved into a sea of
24:20crimson. The only thing keeping me upright was a message my uncle and aunt had sent.
24:25Tomorrow is the day we finalize your severance. We're coming to collect you now. And we're bringing
24:31little Leo with us. Just endure until my family arrives. Then everything will finally be over.
24:37That was what I told myself. Until a document was shoved in front of my face.
24:42This is the apology, Sroll. Sign your blood name. Now.
24:46But my eye caught what was tucked inside. I pulled it out, and my vision nearly shattered.
24:55A letter of forgiveness? My mind instantly flew to the faint blood scent on Serafina,
25:01and then to the message my uncle and aunt had sent. By timing alone, they should have arrived long ago.
25:08In the footage, my uncle's family still lay at the attack site. Aunt Margo was the only one conscious,
25:15with an arm grotesquely twisted. She clutched little Leo, his chest nearly torn through.
25:21She knelt on the ground, kowtowing over and over.
25:25My pup is dying! Please! I'm begging you! Let us reach the healers!
25:34You...
25:35My voice shook uncontrollably. Kale's expression remained utterly. Indifferent, the three lives in
25:42that footage seemed to mean less to him than a single tear from Serafina.
25:48You sign. I save them. Otherwise...
25:53The unspoken threat hung heavy in the air.
25:56I finally broke. I lifted my head and fixed him with a stare so desolate,
26:01so utterly hollow, that Kale himself froze for an instant. No, she wasn't supposed to look at him like that.
26:07I took the blood pen from his hand and, with immense effort, signed my name. A single tear
26:14fell onto the document, bleeding into a crimson ripple.
26:20Kale Vorne... I hate you.
26:23Kale moved to summon the healers, but Serafina urged frantically beside him.
26:29If we don't deliver the forgiveness letter now, the pack enforcers will come for me!
26:35So the vehicle roared off, leaving me crumpled on the ground, gritting my teeth. I hauled myself
26:41up. I hailed transport after transport before one finally agreed to take me to the attack site.
26:47I kept vigil outside the operating chamber through an entire night until...
26:51My tears ran dry and finally...
26:53Those words from the head healer...
26:55They're out of immediate danger.
26:57At daybreak, the law keeper delivered the bonding severance decree.
27:02My grandparents arrived at the same moment. I thought they would blame me.
27:06That they would look at me and see only the fool who had brought ruin to our family.
27:10Our little Eera has suffered so much.
27:13But the two elderly wolves simply held me in their arms.
27:17Outside the healing ward, transport was already waiting. A message from Kale appeared on my phone.
27:23I've already summoned the best healers for you. Your family will be fine.
27:29Serafini was quite shaken. I'm taking her away from the territory for a while to help her recover.
27:34I'll bring you back a gift. I glanced at the message once, felt the last frayed thread of the bond
27:40finally snap, then blocked his number, boarded the transport, and never looked back.
27:49Three months later. The far coast, a territory untouched by the Frostfang pack's influence,
27:55by day, I refined our ancestral healing formulas. By night, I studied pack medicine texts. Every hour in
28:02the laboratory was an hour I didn't spend remembering. I had changed. Everyone around
28:08me knew it. The Eera who once lived for a single. Alpha's smile was gone. In her place stood someone
28:14quieter. Harder. Someone. Who no longer flinched at shadows but no longer believed in fairy tales.
28:21My Volf, too, had changed. She was still there, but retreated deep. Curled up in some quiet corner of my
28:27soul. The severance had not killed her. But it had wounded her profoundly. She no longer strained toward
28:34the bond that wasn't there. She no longer howled for an Alpha who had never truly wanted us. We were
28:39healing. Slowly. But healing. The door chimed, and I looked up from my workbench. The male who walked in
28:47was tall. Lean, with dark brown hair falling across warm amber eyes.
28:56There was a gentleness to his face. But beneath it, a quiet strength that didn't need to announce
29:01itself. Eera, lately? You've been so focused on work. Are you really alright? Julian's voice was
29:09smooth, carrying a faint accent I couldn't quite place. I set down my notes. I had been pressing my
29:15quill too hard. The paper was scored. I'm fine. I just don't know how to be anyone else anymore.
29:23Julian didn't push. He never pushed. Instead, he glanced at my workbench and smiled.
29:28The Blackwood Pack sent me to coordinate with your family's practice.
29:32I blinked. I was expecting someone older. No offense.
29:38None taken. Everyone expects my father. But he's semi-retired now, spends most of his time in his
29:47greenhouse talking to his herbs. Something about the way he said it, fond and faintly exasperated,
29:54pulled an unexpected smile from me. It was the first time I had smiled at anyone in three months.
30:00Julian, I would learn. Was an alpha. But unlike any alpha I had ever met, the Blackwood Pack's most
30:07gifted healer. Patient beyond measure.
30:13Over the following weeks, Julian never pushed. Never pried, when I went quiet mid-conversation.
30:20He simply waited, when I flinched at sudden movements, he pretended not to notice.
30:24When I snapped at him once, unfairly, unkindly, a lash of temper born of pain rather than anger,
30:32he merely nodded. You're right. I should have asked before touching your equipment.
30:39I'm sorry. I apologized later, mortified. He shrugged.
30:44You've been through something. I don't know what, and you don't owe me the story.
30:48But I've treated enough wounded wolves to recognize the signs.
30:52His amber eyes met mine, steady and undemanding.
30:56Take whatever time you need, Ira. I'm not going anywhere.
30:59Julian also personally performed the operations on my uncle's family. He devised a meticulous
31:04rehabilitation plan that had little Leo, the most critically injured, transferred to a standard
31:10ward within a single week. He even represented the Blackwood Pack and signed a partnership.
31:16Agreement with our family. The terms were exceedingly fair,
31:20without even a whisper of exploitation. So I truly meant it when I turned to him.
31:28For everything. But after everything that had happened, something inside me had fractured.
31:34I couldn't interact normally with people anymore. Even expressing gratitude left me stiff and awkward.
31:41Julian, as if he hadn't noticed a thing, simply drew closer. His warm palm rested briefly against my forehead,
31:48checking my temperature with a healer's practice touch.
31:52Your pulse is still too fast. You're pushing yourself too hard again.
31:56I know. I let my hand fall.
32:02I just, every time I slow down, I start remembering. And I don't want to remember.
32:10Julian continued tending to a cut on my arm with gentle efficiency.
32:14Don't worry. Your wounds will heal very soon.
32:17He coaxed me the way one would soothe a frightened pup.
32:20Because, I'm the best healer there is.
32:23I found myself nodding, almost against my will. And for the first time in months,
32:28the tight knot in my chest loosened, just a little.
32:32Meanwhile, across the ocean, the Vorn Pack Council had ground to a complete halt,
32:37all because of Kale's obsessive drive to find me. Through every sleepless night,
32:41he replayed every detail of my disappearance. If he had known about the pup, how could he possibly
32:47not have chosen me? He hurled another bottle against the wall.
32:53Just because I made one wrong choice, you would leave me so completely? It's not fair!
33:01When his path lieutenant pushed open the door, Kale surged to his feet.
33:10Did you find my mate?
33:11The lieutenant shook his head.
33:13All we found was a single clip of the Alpha mate boarding a charter flight.
33:16As for where that flight was headed, the trail goes cold. Someone with considerable resources has buried it.
33:23The light in Kale's eyes extinguished instantly. His towering body collapsed into a pile of shattered
33:29glass. His shirt bloomed crimson. His wolf wind.
33:34Alpha. The surveillance trail is truly dead.
33:38But perhaps, you might visit the Ashter home-owned in person.
33:44The Alpha mate is, by blood, still a daughter of that house.
33:49In truth, Kale had torn through the Ashdown estate the very day I went missing, and found nothing.
33:56He set off for the Ashdown residence at once, in the past, whenever he visited. The Ashdowns would line
34:02up at the gate to welcome him, but today he had come to hastily, without any advance notice.
34:08The servants didn't recognize him at first, by the time they realized who he was. He had already
34:14stormed into the great hall, and in the moment he pushed open the inner door, he caught a fragment of
34:19a name. My name.
34:24Inside, Seraphine, who had once again received a packed tribunal summons, was raging.
34:29That wretched actually dared to bring charges against me!
34:33I should've finished her off too, right then and there!
34:36Kale's entire body went rigid. The Seraphine in his memory had always been.
34:41Gentle and fragile. How could she use such vicious language against her own blood?
34:46And what did she mean? Finished her off too. Suddenly fragments resurfaced.
34:51My uncle's family. Run down deliberately. The silverthorn in the broth. The driver who lied,
34:57and why was her bedroom several times finer than mine. She claimed her upbringing had been worse
35:01than a dog's. But I frequently cast her out. But the more Kale thought about it, the more things
35:07refused to add up. Then, from inside the room, came the voice of Mr. Ashdown.
35:14The most important thing right now is to find Kale and beg for his intervention. By the way,
35:20he still believes you're the one who saved his life, correct? In an instant, every drop of blood in
35:26Kale's veins turned to ice. Inside the chamber, Seraphine was still basking in self-satisfaction.
35:34Kale Vaughn. He might be the most powerful alpha in three territories. But all it took were a few
35:40well-placed tears, and he swallowed every lie I fed him. He'll go his whole life never knowing the
35:46one who saved him wasn't me at all. It was that pathetic little Omega, Ira. Just thinking about it
35:54makes me giddy. So what if Ela saved his life? I stole all the credit. She knew all along she'd
36:00never surpass me in Kale's heart. That's why, the day of the ambush, she didn't even dare tell him she
36:06carried his pup. She just stood there and watched him choose me, and couldn't even save her own heir.
36:12It's honestly hilarious. After the brief, stunned paralysis, a rage unlike anything Kale had ever
36:19known surged through him. His wolf surged. His eyes blazed molten gold. Frost began to
36:25crystallize along the walls. The chamber door exploded inward, torn clean off its hinges.
36:34Alpha Vaughn, what brings you here? Kale, I can't believe Ira hates me this much. Please,
36:41you have to protect me.
36:44This time, Kale seized her by the shoulders. His eyes held nothing but endless, frozen contempt.
36:50The tribunal is too merciful for a lying venomous snake like you. You deserve to be cast out of every
36:56pack under the moon. Seraphine's face drained of all color. Kale issued a single command to his
37:03lieutenant. In less than half an hour, the lieutenant arrived with a thick dossier of documents.
37:09From start to finish, Seraphine had been weaving lies. The one who had suffered ceaseless misery in
37:15the Ashdown household, who was frequently locked out, had always been me.
37:22One bitter winter night, I had once again been driven from the house. I fled to a narrow alley to
37:28take shelter. That was when I stumbled upon a group of rogue wolves about to silence their hostage.
37:33A boy my age, the young alpha heir of the Vorn pack. In desperation, I signaled the pack enforcers
37:42with a forbidden distress call. Then I threw stones at the rogues, grabbed Kale's hand, and ran with all
37:48my might. The enforcers arrived in time. The rogues scattered.
37:55But halfway through our desperate flight, Kale and I were separated by a collapsing wall of debris.
38:05He had searched for me for so many years. He never imagined he had ended up finding the wrong female.
38:15And yet, stealing credit for his rescue was only Seraphine's opening act. The
38:20vehicular attack on my uncle's family was entirely deliberate on her part.
38:24She had meant to silence them forever.
38:30The pack outside my ward. The wave of public condemnation, all orchestrated by Seraphine my
38:36miscarriage. Seraphine had deliberately leaked the news to Ilara so that the High Elder would
38:42discipline me with the silver rod. And even the rogue wolf ambush itself, arranged by Seraphine in
38:49collusion with exiled wolves.
38:57Why? Why did you do all this?
39:01Kale's roar was almost feral.
39:06Seraphine trembled violently.
39:08Kale, I just wanted you to see your own heart clearly.
39:12You chose to save me. That proves I'm the one you truly love.
39:16Now that Ilara has stepped aside, we can finally be together.
39:23Whatever Ilara could give you, I can give you too.
39:27Even more. Wasn't I the one you wanted to claim from the very beginning?
39:34Claim you.
39:40The one I have loved, from the moment I first drew breath as a wolf, is Ira.
39:46If you hadn't stolen her life-saving grace, I wouldn't have wasted a single glance on you.
39:51He had once believed that finding his rescuer was the greatest gift the Moon Goddess could bestow.
39:56Now he understood. It had all been poison, dressed as honor. Word reached me across the ocean.
40:03Serafini, Ashdown had been arrested, the PAC tribunal found her guilty on 17 counts.
40:09Conspiracy to murder. Deliberate endangerment of a PAC heir.
40:13Fraud against the Alphars blood oath. The sentence was exile.
40:17Permanent, irrevocable exile, a mark burned into her wolf that would cause any Alpha in any territory to reject her
40:23on sight.
40:24She would live the rest of her days as a rogue. I read the news on my phone, sitting by
40:30the window of my small apartment overlooking the foreign coastline.
40:33The sea here was warmer, greener, softer. I waited to feel something, satisfaction, vindication, relief.
40:41Instead, I felt nothing. A vast, quiet nothing. Seraphine's punishment didn't bring back my pup.
40:50Julian said, glancing up.
40:52The product launch, in a couple of days. Are you ready?
40:57My family's transition overseas had been built around a core healing patent. A formula my grandfather
41:03had spent 30 years refining. I had taken that foundation and elevated it.
41:08Merging ancient wolf remedies with modern medical techniques.
41:12Even before the official launch, it had earned unanimous praise everyone knew.
41:18Once this new treatment was unveiled, it would transform PAC medicine.
41:22I had been deeply uncertain about attending the launch in person.
41:25I worried my wolf, still so quiet and withdrawn, would falter under the spotlight.
41:33Julian? What if I'm not ready? What if I freeze up there?
41:36It didn't heal the scars on my body where the silver rod had. Bitten deepest.
41:41It didn't restore the years I had spent loving a male who had never once chosen me.
41:45I set the phone down and went back to my work. Julian found me there hours later.
41:50Still hunched over my notes. He didn't ask about the news.
41:53He simply placed a cup of herbal tea beside my elbow.
41:57Chamomile and moon petal my favorite blend.
42:03We worked in companionable silence until the sun dipped below the horizon.
42:08That was the thing about Julian. He never demanded. He simply was there.
42:13Steady as the tide.
42:19Julian's amber eyes held mine, steady and sure.
42:22You froze? The same at Ira, who just spent three hours arguing with the council about dosage protocols?
42:30That's different. That's just… work.
42:35No. That's you. The real you. The one who's still in there.
42:40You have to take the first step to keep moving forward, don't you?
42:44Julian leaned forward, his voice soft but certain.
42:47In that moment, my long hesitation simply dissolved.
42:50The product launch arrived as scheduled, and taking that first step.
42:54It truly wasn't as hard as I had feared.
42:57The moment the spotlight hit, my voice was steady.
43:00My hands didn't shake, wave after wave of applause rose from the gathered pack representatives,
43:05that bright, fearless, unstoppable version of myself.
43:08The one I thought I'd lost forever, came rushing back.
43:13As I stepped down from the stage, a figure moved to block my path, Kale Vorn.
43:19He was wearing the dark, sharp cut coat. I had once loved on him, at his collar gleamed
43:24the obsidian pin I had personally selected for our claiming ceremony. His eyes betrayed him.
43:30The silver was shadowed. Haunted, gone was the condescending arrogance.
43:35In its place was something raw, almost desperate.
43:41Ira, you were magnificent up there. Perhaps it was the glow of success,
43:45but my expression softened, slightly. Thank you. No deliberate frost, no hostility.
43:53But it was that very courtesy, that polite, impenetrable distance, that pierced Kale like a
43:59silver blade. I've uncovered everything. Can you forgive me?
44:04Just once? I truly know I was wrong. His voice was strained, threaded with fear.
44:10From the very first moment my wolf sensed you, I couldn't control what I felt on the night of our
44:16ceremony. When I saw it was you, walking towards me under the full moon, you have no idea how complete
44:25I felt. A single syllable, and I stopped everything he wanted to say. Hmm, but I don't care anymore.
44:35I severed our bond of my own free will. I think the meaning behind that should be clear.
44:44From this day forward, I want no connection with you whatsoever.
44:49Kale's eyes bled instantly to gold, his wolf surging with anguish.
44:53Why? You clearly loved me. Why can't you give me one chance? I swear on my wolf's life. I will
44:59cherish you, guard you with every breath. No one will ever be placed above you again. We can have
45:03another pup. The word pup stabbed through me like a silver shard. My voice dropped to ice. Enough.
45:10Did I not make myself clear, or do you simply refuse to understand? You and I are finished. The bond
45:19is dead.
45:22There is not even the faintest possibility between us anymore.
45:30My eyes brightened, following my gaze. Julian was making his way toward us through the crowd. The way
45:36we looked at each other drove Kale's wolf to the brink of. Madness, it shouldn't be like this.
45:43Kale opened his mouth to speak. But an unnatural groan sounded from above the. Enormous crystal
45:50chandelier came plummeting straight down toward me. Two male voices rang out at the same instant.
46:00Kale lunged forward to pull me to safety. But before he could even touch me,
46:04he watched me stretch my hand toward Julian. Kale was closer. Reaching for Kale would have been faster.
46:11A single grab and I'd be clear. But I didn't spare him a single glance. I placed all my trust.
46:17All my hope.
46:18In another male as if, from start to finish. I had never once expected Kale to save me. But I
46:25trusted
46:25Julian absolutely. It was only in this moment that Kale finally, truly understood, back on that cliff.
46:32When I watched him choose Serafini without hesitation. What I must have felt the absolute
46:37desolation. The death of hope. In the end, a deafening crash shook the hall. Kale threw himself
46:44forward. Not to be chosen. But to shield me with his own body. He was crushed beneath the massive
46:50chandelier. I, meanwhile, was wrapped safely in Julian's arms. Pulled clear in the final heartbeat.
46:57This time, I had chosen correctly. But Kale, staring up through an endless sea of red,
47:03understood one final truth. He would never be chosen again. Not by me. Not ever.
47:10In the depths of agony. Kale's fading consciousness slipped into a dream. In the dream. The scene was
47:17still that cliff. The rogue waff was demanding he choose one life. This time, I screamed that I
47:23carried his pup. His air. His blood. So, at the very last moment. He chose me. It was the outcome
47:30he had
47:30longed for. Wished for. A thousand times over. But what followed. He could not believe. Because in the dream.
47:38Under the pretense of protecting the air. He confined me to the healing ward. In the dream's
47:43cruelest turn. Everyone I loved died. He brought Serafini back. He brought Serafini to the delivery
47:49room. Intending to bestow upon me a single act of mercy. To let me give birth to his heir. He
47:56knew how
47:56desperately I had wanted this pup. Once the child was born. We would share a permanent bond. I would
48:02never be able to leave. He never expected. As soon as he entered the ward. The monitors erupted in
48:08shrill alarms. The pup had died in the womb. And I, in a final abyss of despair, picked up a
48:15surgical
48:15blade and drove it into my own heart. In reality, the monitors in the emergency chamber screamed the
48:23same piercing alarm. Critical! Alpha Vorne's life signs are crashing! Heart rate collapsing!
48:32Kale Vorne was dead. He had died from massive internal hemorrhaging. The chandelier had crushed
48:38organs beyond even the accelerated healing of an alpha during the resuscitation attempts. He had shown
48:44not a single shred of will to live. I can't claim I felt nothing. Something in my chest gave a
48:50single,
48:51faint pulse. Then it was gone. The law keeper placed into my hands a decree. Kale Vorne's last will
48:58transferring every asset of the Frostfang pack. Unconditionally, to me along with a single line
49:04in his own handwriting. This was always yours. I was simply too blind to say it. I stared at those
49:09words
49:10for a long time. Julian was waiting. A bouquet of fresh moonflowers in his hands. His amber eyes met mine,
49:17warm and steady. There was no possession in his gaze, only quiet, unwavering certainty. Congratulations
49:25on your new life. I took the flowers. Their scent. Clean, sweet, hopeful. Filled the space between us,
49:33my wolf stirred. Not wounded. Not hiding. Simply, ready.
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